The FAS IRs are asking the FAS governments to waive the five-year residency requirement so they can be FAS citizens.
The FAS are Palau, the Marshall Islands and the FSM — Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap.
“The mandated five-year reviews of the FSM and Marshalls’ Compact treaties are currently ongoing, which could offer the long-term solution to the spouses of FAS citizens in the CNMI,” Jackson told Irene N. Tantiado, United Workers Movement, NMI president.
Jackson said Tantiado should communicate with the FSM Compact Review Committee or its Marshalls counterpart.
Under the federalization law, Tantiado said FAS IRs will be considered nonresidents.
“This is where we need your help. After the permit of the IRs expires and they cannot find a job, they will be forced to leave CNMI,” she added.
Most of these FAS citizens and their alien spouses have been married for five, 10 or 15 years and it is estimated that there are about 300 FAS citizens married to alien spouses, she said.
In her letter to Jackson, Tantiado asked the FSM to address two “critical issues”:
1) The need to include FAS IRs in the proposed amendments to the CNMI immigration system which will now allow a two-year permits.
Tantiado said they have already launched a signature campaign among the FAS citizens to ask the CNMI Immigration Division to include their IRs in the proposed amendments.
2) Grant FAS political status to the IRs which is the only long term solution that will allow them to have a stable immigration status in the CNMI.
FAS citizens can reside, work and study anywhere in the U.S. and its territories.
